Two U.S. grocery store chains may soon be filing for bankruptcy. According to Bloomberg, both Bi-Lo (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Tops Friendly Market (Williamsville, N.Y.) are in the works of filing bankruptcy papers.
Bi-Lo, which owns and operates the Winn-Dixie chain and is carrying more than $1 billion in debt, is expected to file for bankruptcy as soon as March. Tops is expected to file as soon as this month. Bi-Lo previously declared bankruptcy in 2005 and 2009; it is also expected to close a number of stores – as many as 200 – around the same time that it files.
The pressure to seek protection from creditors is being attributed, in part, to an increase in grocery competition from sources such as Amazon (Seattle).